The Shattering II - The Heart of Hope
by LindaN
Summary: Sequel to The Shattering. It is Mirai Trunks & Vegetas story- father & son. It follows Trunks as he struggles to connect to family & find love. Follows Vegeta as well. (Yaoi, strong language, Ch. Summaries). UPDATE: Ch 7 - Crisis for Trunks & Tien
1. Prologue

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Disclaimer: LindaN doesn't own DBZ or the characters therein, she simply writes about them and loves them.

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The Shattering II - The Heart of Hope

By LindaN

Prologue

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Dear Reader:

It is with great joy and excitement that I tell you about the second story in The Shattering Trilogy called **The Shattering II, _The Heart of Hope_**. It will be a journey into the heart and mind of Mirai Trunks as he finds himself simply unable to survive in the future any longer, and so he travels back in time and right into our lives for a while. And if you've not yet read the **_The Shattering_**, I urge you to do that first, so the fullness of this, the second story, will be more apparent to you.

The past he returns to will be that time of peace after the recent defeat of Majin Buu, and Mirai Trunks hopes against hope that he can find what he is looking for and so desperately desires. And we will see Vegeta through the eyes of his adult son, and we will see Trunks through the eyes of Vegeta, as the saga of Vegeta and his family continues to unfold for us. 

Now 24 years old, 5 foot, 9 inches tall, and weighing 167 pounds, his thick lavender hair hangs down past his shoulders. 

The Shattering II - _The Heart of Hope _is about Trunks quest to finally see himself reflected back to him in onyx colored shades of unconditional love. And it's about Vegeta's ability to continue to allow love to grow in his heart. And we'll also get to be there when little Bra is born.

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And so begins **The Shattering II  - _The Heart of Hope_**, the multi-chaptered, second story in The Shattering Trilogy focusing on Vegeta and his family. Journey with Mirai Trunks, as he hopes against hope, to connect and reconnect to special loved ones in the past. Trunks will show us his passionate warrior's heart and the story will be a powerful blend of drama, romance, and humor as he works through his relationships with Vegeta, Gohan, and Goku. And this story too, will have a happy ending, but it will take him some time to get there. Story takes place during that quiet DBZ timeline after Majin Buu's death.

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Welcome to the story, Mirai Trunks! You've touched our hearts and we love you.

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LindaN


	2. A Farewell to Fallen Heroes

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Disclaimer: LindaN doesn't own DBZ or the characters therein, she simply writes about them and loves them.

Summary: This chapter takes place in Mirai Trunks time and the title of this one speaks for itself (This chapter carries a Kleenex alert though, so the tenderhearted among you might want to go get some first. (^_~) Awesome first chapter as we welcome Mirai Trunks into the story. Enjoy!

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A Farewell to Fallen Heroes

"I love you, mom", he said as he waved goodbye.

"I love you too, son, more than you'll ever know". * 

Bulma and Trunks

And Trunks sat in that silent bedroom and thought about the first time he and his mom had happened to stumble onto that beautiful, high mountain valley not far from Capsule Corporation. He was only about 8 then.

"Trunks, have you ever seen anything more beautiful in all your life? Hope lives in this place, can't you feel it?" And with that, she was like an overgrown child, running and looking and exploring and weeping, all at the same time.

"Ah, sure mom. The waterfall is nice, I guess", he had replied. 

And he remembered looking at the tears that were streaming down her face and he remembered thinking that she had absolutely lost her mind. Of course he didn't feel it! He had been only 8 years old and he was a boy and his thoughts were on fighting the androids. He wanted to be down where Gohan was, continuing to try to talk the warrior into becoming his trainer. He wanted to get strong so he could fight them and he was convinced that if he and Gohan only just teamed up, they could take those monsters out in a heartbeat. But at that time, Gohan was still too cautious with him, and was refusing.

And after a time, Bulma got an idea. She had realized that none of the Earth's Special Forces who had sacrificed their lives, whether from fighting androids or from fighting heart viruses, had ever gotten a proper burial, and there was nothing to remember them by. And she wanted to have a place to go talk with them because she still missed them all so much. So she chose an especially beautiful site up in that high mountain valley, and it was nestled between a grove of tall pine trees to the right and magnificently large boulders on the left and in the early evening, the setting sun would shine upon it, and Bulma felt that they all would have liked that. 

With that, she went to work in her woodworking shop and fashioned 7 slabs of cherry wood, which she honed and polished and lacquered until they shone as brilliantly as the people they were intended to represent. Then she created a protected inset in each one and called it the 'Heart of the Marker', knowing that one day she would find just the right words to place in those hearts. And she inscribed their names on each of those seven beautifully polished markers, and together one day, mother and son went up and placed each one in that carefully chosen spot, and for the first time in his young life, he began to understand and have compassion for what it meant to be heartbroken, because he had never seen his mom cry like that before. And even though they all only lived in the stories she had told him, Trunks cried too because her sadness touched him so deeply.

Then five years later, an eighth marker with the name, Gohan, was added. 

And only just a few days after they buried Gohan, Bulma had finally heard just the right words she had been waiting for to express her love for her friends in the form of a song titled "My Heart Will Go On" and she came rushing up to her son and tears were streaming down her face. Finally, someone had put to words what she had always felt in her heart and now, even though he was still only 13 at the time, he too had developed a deep understanding of the love for another.

She felt that the most beautiful song in the whole world had been written just for them and she carefully wrote the words down on a simple, single, lined sheet of notebook paper. And mother and son spent another tearful day up in that beautifully quiet high mountain valley carefully selecting the best verse of the song for each warrior, carefully inscribing what she called her love songs to them and placed the inscriptions in the hearts of those memorial markers. And when it was time to chose and write Gohan's, she just held him and let him cry in her arms. And when it was time for her to chose and write the love song to Vegeta, he did the same for her. 

And now he sat in that silent bedroom with another beautifully polished cherry wood marker in his arms, upon which he had just finished inscribing the name of his hero and very best friend in the entire world.

Bulma had died in his arms that afternoon, and in a heartbeat, she was gone. She had taught him how to love, and how to laugh and how to cry, and how to live life to the fullest, but one thing she had never taught him was how to say goodbye. And so he held her, and he rocked her, and when he had no more tears left to cry for her, he took to flight to bury his beautiful little blue haired mom with the people she had loved most in her lifetime, apart from him. Her death wasn't a surprise, as she had been sick for a long time and he supposed he should have been better prepared for it, but he wasn't. How does someone prepare for a pain that literally rips your heart out until it happens?

And he had chosen to wait to write his love song to her until the marker was set and only then would he inscribe the last verse of that beautiful song and place it within the marker's heart. Except this time, he would make the journey up to that beautiful high mountain valley alone and there would be no arms to hold him when he cried. 

As Trunks landed in that quiet, high mountain valley where that makeshift cemetery was, he walked past each marker carrying both her lifeless little body and her memorial marker in his arms and he dropped to his knees, stopping at the spot that he had prepared for her days earlier because he knew her time was close, and he gently laid her down into the earth that she loved so. 

And as he began to cover her with handfuls of dirt, he found that his tears had returned and soon began to land in tiny droplets upon her. Then he finally found the strength to say goodbye and he wanted so desperately to believe that the stories she told him about the afterlife were true and that somewhere, somehow, she continued in the next dimension, and that she could still see him.

As he stood looking down at ground, a sudden and unusual breeze began to swirl down and careen through that quiet mountain valley and it took his long lavender hair and lifted it up and almost seemed to twirl it around in a way that felt strangely familiar to him. And he was moved when he remembered that she had told him that when she had arrived in the next dimension, she would send her love to him on the wings of the very wind itself and would mess his hair in that special way that always irritated him so much. And then he would know that she was all right, and safe, and was watching over him, living on in his heart and in the next dimension. 

'Trunks', she would say, 'the heart of a good person is filled with the wings of love that are just bursting at the seams to take to flight and touch someone else, and that continues always, even into the next dimension'. 

And a small glimmer of hope was planted in him right in the middle of all that pain and sorrow. It was just like her to do that to him now, because no matter how hard things got, she would always tell him that hope, however tiny it might be, had to exist somewhere to give birth to life, and she would then remind him that once upon a time a long time ago, he himself was just a tiny little seed of hope within the body of a warrior who thought hope was dead, and 'just look at what happened!' she'd say throwing her hands up in the air beaming at him, and then she would always hug him. 

"Who is going to hug me now, Mom?"

And with that, he glanced over at those eight silent markers that didn't have arms, in that makeshift little cemetery that Bulma had created to honor and remember the Earth's Special Forces, and where just moments earlier, he had buried her too. 

Now, with pen in hand, Trunks was trying to find the strength to inscribe the final verse of his love song to his mom which he would then place within the marker's heart. And with that, he unfolded that original, wrinkled and tear stained, eleven year old sheet of lined notebook paper that she had kept for so long. 

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"My Heart Will Go On"

By Celine Dion

"I don't think my heart can go on alone mom, there's nobody left to love me". 

And with one arm around his waist and his face buried in hand of the other, Trunks stood alone in that quiet high mountain valley, weeping uncontrollably.

And he knew that he should be stronger, he had the blood of a Saiyan warrior in his veins, and he found that he could be fearless and impassioned in battle, and that he was no longer a little boy rather, he was a grown man now and yet, no matter how hard he tried to convince himself otherwise, he found that his tears continued to flow as passionately as they had when Gohan died when he was only 13.

And right then, he wasn't so sure he even wanted his heart to go on anymore, but that stupid damned wind wouldn't leave him alone and was buffeting him now, and Bulma seemed to be trying to tell him that she continued, and he would too.

Still weeping intensely, he now felt driven to read the words of the love songs Bulma had set within the hearts of those eight markers because they represented real people who used to be, and were now gone, and he wanted to honor them. Even though another version of them was alive in the past, the ones who were represented by these markers could not replaced.

Trunks took a deep breath and tried to calm himself as he decided to read those love songs out loud because he want to tell each warrior how much his mom had loved all of them. 

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Dear Goku,

Every night in my dreams*   
I see you, I feel you,   
that is how I know you go on.

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Love, Bulma

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Goku - Compassionate Hero, Friend  


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Dear Yamcha,

Far across the distance   
and spaces between us   
you have come to show you go on.

_Love, Bulma_

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Yamcha - Warrior, Friend

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Dear Tien and Chiaouztu,

Near, far, wherever you are   
I believe that the heart does go on.

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Love, Bulma

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Tienshinhan - Moving Mountain, Defender of the Earth

Chiaouztu - Warrior, Gentle Friend

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Dear Piccolo,

Once more you open the door  
and you're here in my heart   
and my heart will go on and on.

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Love, Bulma

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Piccolo - Namek, Keeper of the Dragonballs 

  
_Dear Vegeta,_

Love can touch us one time   
and last for a lifetime   
and never let go till we're one.  
Love was when I loved you   
one true time I hold to.   
In my life we'll always go on.

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With a love that lasts to this day, Bulma 

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Vegeta - Warrior, Father, and Saiya-Jin Prince

Dear Krillen,

Near, far, wherever you are   
I believe that the heart does go on.

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Love, Bulma

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Krillen - Tenderhearted Warrior, Lifelong Friend

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Dear Gohan,

Once more you open the door  
and you're here in my heart   
and my heart will go on and on.   
There is some love that will not go away.

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Love, Trunks

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Gohan - Master Teacher, Warrior, and Light  


And with that, the brokenhearted son of Bulma Briefs put the beautifully crafted, handed polished cherry wood marker into place, and copied the last verse of that moving song for her which was his love song to her, and set it deep within the heart of the marker.

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Dear Mom,

You're here, there's nothing I fear,   
and I know that my heart will go on.   
We'll stay forever this way   
you are safe in my heart   
and my heart will go on and on. +

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Love, Trunks

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Bulma Briefs - Loving Mom, Best Friend, and Hope's Hero

And with that, the adult son of Vegeta and Bulma struggled to hold on to that tiny glimmer of hope, as he longed to feel that familiar pair of arms around him again. He could handle almost anything except being alone, which he now was, and the night was coming, and it was beginning to rain, and he refused to think again about that night when Gohan was killed, not now. And he stood to his feet and he cursed the rain, and the night, and death. 

And soon, that glimmer of hope was gone. And Trunks wondered if that was how his father felt, because Vegeta always seemed so without hope to him. With that, Trunks wished he could be more like his father, hard-hearted and cruel and then nothing would bother him. 

'Father would rip me to shreds if he could see me standing here crying my eyes out like a little girl', Trunks thought to himself. 'He would never cry for her like this.' And with that, Trunks wondered if Vegeta had ever cried at all in his lifetime and he decided that a heart of stone simply was not capable shedding tears. And Trunks hated himself for being so weak, and he wished he had a heart just like his father's, and he hated himself for loving those in his life so totally, even Vegeta. 

For just a moment in time, Trunks let himself imagine that his father was embracing him and simply weeping with him over their loss and holding him tightly in his powerful warrior's arms. And Trunks was filled with a longing to go to him and tell him how much he loved him anyway, regardless of how he might feel. And it wouldn't even matter if that love wasn't returned, he simply wanted to be able to say it at least once to him and then watch the reaction in his father's onyx black eyes. But now, he would never have the chance to even try because he only knew how to fly time machine, not repair it.

"Okay Trunks, just stop it! Get a grip, say goodbye and just go home". And with that, he chose to walk, rather than fly, through the pouring rain back to Capsule Corporation.

But still unknown to the heartbroken lavender haired demi-Saiyan, Hope did exist and it was waiting for him in the lab back at Capsule Corporation. Bulma had put the finishing touches on it just yesterday and had spent weeks programming it for one last trip to the past, but she slipped into unconsciousness before she could tell him. All he had to do was believe that hope existed, and then go looking for it in the form a time machine, which was his best friend's final gift to him before she passed into the next dimension, because she truly loved him more than he would ever know.

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"I love you, mom", he said as he waved goodbye*.

Trunks

*_The History of Trunks, _Funimation Studios 

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For those of you who might not know, Hope was the name Bulma gave to, and wrote on, the side of Trunk's time machine, in both the movie and the anime.

+My Heart Will Go On, By Celine Dion

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Dragonballz, By Akira Toriyama

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(To be continued)


	3. The Reunion

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Disclaimer: LindaN doesn't own DBZ or the characters therein, she simply writes about them and loves them.

Summary: From this chapter on, we are in the present time. Mirai Trunks has found the time machine and has appeared at the front door of Capsule Corporation and he is launched into his new life in ways that he never dreamed possible. (Kleenex? - maybe, but I have a feeling you're going to laugh some too! (^_~) I'm just so proud of Vegeta! And I hope you will be too. Enjoy! 

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The Reunion

'Trunks', she would say, 

'the heart of a good person is filled with the wings of love 

that are just bursting at the seams to take to flight and touch someone else."*

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Mirai Bulma

Vegeta stood in the doorway to the kitchen quietly watching his very beautiful, and very round and pregnant wife, and he was torn between fulfilling a promise to Trunks and fulfilling an increasingly intense need growing within his body. And he determined that if he moved quickly, seizing the opportunity at hand, he could do both. So walked up behind his wife and embraced her, pressing into her and making the intensity of his desire apparent to her, and when he scooped her gently up into his arms, she let him. And they were half way up the stairs to their bedroom when their very angry 8-year-old son appeared.

"Where are you going, Poppa?!" his son said with arms crossed and lavender eyes blazing.

"Trunks," Vegeta said with onyx black eyes blazing as well, but for an entirely different reason, "your mom and I are going to go talk to the baby for a little while. It won't take long, and we should be done in about 5 minutes. And if you are willing to wait patiently for me, I shall increase our training time today by 30 minutes. Deal?" 

And with that fire put out, the enamored parents hurried up the stairs to extinguish one of a completely different matter.

And 30 minutes later, Chibi Trunks was livid as he waited impatiently for his dad to get done "talking to baby" upstairs with his mom. That's all he seemed to want to do anymore. As soon as breakfast was done, up they'd go to "talk to the baby", after supper, "talk to the baby" and now instead of training sessions with his 8 year old son, he was upstairs "talking to the baby". 

"Talking to the baby my little lavender haired ass!" Chibi Trunks said on the verge of blasting something.

"The baby isn't even out yet. I know what you too are really doing up there, I'm not that stupid", he said talking to the ceiling.

"Well, I kinda know, sort of. I WATCH TV TOO YA KNOW! I see what they do sometimes. Poppa! You said you'd be all done in five minutes and that was a half hour ago!" 

And Chibi Trunks decided he wasn't going to like being a brother.

And on top of everything else, he was just dieing to find out what they really did when they were up there like that. Well, he kinda knew, well, sort of. And he would imagine ways to sneak in there so he could watch, which he even tried a couple of times, but his dad always detected his ki and forced him to leave even though he said he'd just sit in the corner be real quiet.

And then, as though things couldn't get any worse in his little 8-year-old life, the doorbell rang. As soon as he realized that the lavender haired man standing there was the person he had heard all those '_endless'_ stories about, and that he was _'the' _very person his father went _'ballistic'_ over during the cell games, Chibi Trunks was hit with an idea for revenge so sweet that it made him tingle all over. In one fatal swoop, he planned to annihilate the new competition for his father's affections which had just walked through the front door, punish his father for ignoring him, and get a quick eyeful before everything came crashing down around him. 

And he smiled an evil smile at the lavender haired interloper as he set his own version of the ultimate plan for revenge in motion.

And all the way up the stairs to that bedroom, Chibi Trunks kept assuring the lavender haired man that, yes, of course their father was alone in that bedroom, and yes, their mom was at work, and that yes, their father really did have a work shop up there. 

And the unsuspecting parents simply had no idea what lavender shades of evil lurked right outside their closed, but unlocked, bedroom door as they were lost in each other, making love with each other with wild abandon just on the other side of it, never in a million years suspecting what was about to happen. 

"Hey Poppa, Trunks is here to see you!" Chibi Trunks said as he pounded abruptly on the door.

"Go away, son, now is not a good time!"

"What are you doing in there, Poppa?"

"_Trunks, go away! I'm busy right now_!"

"See, I told you so!" Chibi said smiling innocently at the interloper. "He's kinda grumpy right now, but that's our dad! And he's going to be _sooo_ happy to see you!"

And giving his parents just enough time to get back at it, Chibi Trunks flung their bedroom door wide open and shoved the unsuspecting lavender haired man inside with such force that he stopped himself only within inches of the impassioned pair. And when Chibi Trunks saw the look in his father's eyes after he saw the tall lavender haired man standing within inches of him, he knew that he had just annihilated the interloper totally, and then when he saw the absolute look of shock come to his father's eyes over the intrusion, victory number two was in the bag and then, when Chibi finally got to see what they actually did, all he could do was stand and stare, jaw on the ground, dumbfounded, lavender eyes as big as saucers as he finally got his eyeful. 

Now, Trunks knew he should do the adult thing and with quiet dignity, turn around and walk out, but he too, was dumbfounded. Not only had he never done what they were doing, but this was the first time his lavender eyes had seen it as well, and it was Vegeta of all people doing it, all he could do was stand and stare with his jaw on the ground, lavender eyes as big as saucers too. 

And just when Trunks didn't think things could possibly get any worse, Chibi, with his head sort of tilted to the side asked his father, "Poppa! How are you connected to her like that?!" 

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"WHAT! CONNECTED!! GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE NOW !!!"

'This reunion is going really well!', Trunks thought to himself as he and Chibi high tailed it out of the bedroom and ran down the hallway with extreme velocity.

And they made their way back down the stairs not stopping until they were outside safely hidden behind the gravity room. And he was so nervous and embarrassed and shocked, that he began to try to suppress his laughter but got the giggles anyway, and then he made the fatal mistake of looking down at Chibi who was undergoing the same struggle and both of them started to laugh.

"How are you connected to her?! Gees, Chibi, I can't believe you actually asked him that! Did you see the look on his face?!" And for the first time in a long time, Trunks laughed uncontrollably.

But as he lay there in the grass with Chibi, and after he was able to breathe again, he began to replay that scene in his mind. And he was shocked and saddened to realize that the scars he saw on the lower portion of his father's body had not been earned in battle because they were too precise and had been done repeatedly. And Trunks began to weep as he realized that someone, somewhere had tortured his father. And as his feelings of compassion for him began to mix with the love in his heart, Trunks knew that he had made the right decision to come to this time and this place.

"Trunks, are you crying?"

"It's okay, Chibi, something just made me really sad is all". Trunks sighed, wiping his tears away.

"Ah, Trunks? I really got to know, I can't help it! Just how was he connected to her like that?" 

"Chibi! You really don't know? He was inside of her, you dope!" Trunks said laughing at him.

And with that, Chibi's eyes returned to the size of saucers as he looked down at himself.

"What! No way! That's just gross, Trunks."

"Trunks?" Chibi continued.

"What now, Chibi?

"Where'd he put it?" And Trunks was about to tell him to go talk to Bulma when the sound of a familiar voice sent chills down his spine.

"What I do, or do not do, with my own body is not any of your concern!" Vegeta said with chilling quietness, as he simply seemed to appear out of nowhere.

"_But, you shall never again even think of your mother's body in those terms, I forbid it!! _And now, I'm going to the quiet place because I cannot stand the sight of either one of you. Your violation sickens me."

And with that, both Trunks hung their heads in silent shame. But in just a short time, they happened to glance at each other and their shame gave way to gleeful giggles, and then their giggles blossomed into full blown haha's, and soon they were literally rolling on the ground praying that Vegeta wouldn't return and catch them. And walking on the wild side that way appealed to the both of them, in rebellious and childish sort of way.

"How long will he stay mad at us, Chibi?" Trunks asked.

"Oh, forever. But that's okay. He'll forgive us after he's not mad anymore."

"Where's the quiet place, Chibi?"

And suddenly, something quickened inside of Trunks and he knew where Vegeta had gone. With that, Trunks rose to feet and told Chibi that he needed to be alone for a while and asked him to go back inside.

When Trunks arrived at that high mountain valley that he knew so well in his time, he was in shock and moved to tears to see Vegeta sitting high atop one of the magnificent boulders that had gently bordered the makeshift cemetery that existed in the future, and where he had just buried his mom the day before. The idea that this place existed in this time had just never occurred to him.

Trunks stood totally mesmerized, weeping quietly, as he watched Vegeta from a distance. The warrior was sitting with one leg bent and the other stretched out in front of him and he was leaning back on his hands with his eyes closed and his face turned up toward the sun. 

And a wild and warm summer mountain breeze surrounded him, and moved over him and it stayed just with him, as the air where Trunks was standing was perfectly still. And without opening his eyes, Vegeta told Trunks to come out of hiding, knowing he was there since his ki was so detectable. Trunks walked over and stood close to that huge boulder and apologized for dishonoring him as he had done earlier, and turning to leave, he apologized for the interruption as well, but he was stopped dead in his tracks when Vegeta told him that he would not have told him where he would be, if he had not wanted him to follow.

And after a time of simply standing there, watching a silent Vegeta continue to sit with his eyes closed in that unusual breeze, Trunks became impatient and finally asked Vegeta what he was doing up there like that. With that, his father opened his onyx black eyes, looked at him, and spoke.

"I was allowing a beautiful little Saiyan Queen to talk to her son from the next dimension".

When the full impact of that statement with all of its implications hit, in combination with the fact that Vegeta somehow knew what had happened to Bulma and seemed to be almost reaching out to him, plus the fact that Trunks was physically and emotionally exhausted, it caused him to collapse instantly.

And when he awoke, Trunks found himself in a strange bed, in a strange room and his clothes been removed and he had been bathed and somehow, Trunks knew that Vegeta had brought him back to Capsule Corporation and taken care of him.

Beside the bed on the nightstand, was a carefully folded change of clothes, and on the tray beside the clothes were several glasses of juice and some fruit. And there was a note on it that read 'Welcome home, Trunks. We're glad you're here". Trunks was so touched and surprised that he was moved once again to tears.

"You're pathetic, Trunks! I think you weep almost as much as I do!" Vegeta said from across the room. 

"How did you know?" Trunks asked quietly.

And Vegeta looked at Trunks with compassion in his heart and told him that he knew Bulma had died because he had smelled her death on him yesterday in his bedroom, and by the time he had gotten him back to Capsule Corporation it had become so offensive that Vegeta took the liberty of washing it off, cleansing him of it.

And remembering the release he had experienced when he finally told his wife the story of Anuhea, Vegeta asked Trunks to tell him the story of the woman from his time known as Bulma. And so Trunks did, and as he did so, Trunks looked up to watch those onyx black eyes as he spoke of her. When he told Vegeta about the verse of the song and the inscription that she had placed in the heart of his marker, Trunks could see his onyx black eyes well up with tears and he could not imagine what could have created such a change in the warrior he thought only just a few days ago had had a heart of stone.

And over time, Trunks would come to understand the changes that had taken place in Vegeta, ranging from the subtle to the significant. And unknown to Trunks, and even Vegeta himself at the moment, there would come a day in which Vegeta would share with him the horror of his own childhood at the hands of Frieza.

When Trunks had finished telling the story of Bulma Briefs, Vegeta asked Trunks if the man who fathered him had ever become a part of their lives about 4 years ago. And he told the proud Prince no, but that Bulma would speak of one night that she spent with him, but she thought it had been but a dream. 

Vegeta stood to his feet, walked over to the door, and right before he opened it, he turned to Trunks and looked at him for a moment.

"Well, I claim you then, as there shall be will be no fatherless children in my home. And prepare yourself now, son. Chibi has been waiting impatiently right outside your door and as soon as I open it, he will come rushing in here like the very wind itself".

And as almost an afterthought, Vegeta turned back to Trunks and told him that Bulma, Chibi, and he had already determined that Capsule Corporation was now his home and that he was to stay with them from now on. He also told Trunks to think about which part of the house he would like to dwell in and make his own.

And with one hand still on the door knob, Vegeta watched his newly chosen adult son, who had moved to a sitting position in the bed, and he had bent his knees and was embracing them. Vegeta watched as Trunks buried his face there, weeping quietly. And Vegeta could not yet bring himself to open that door and walk out.

"I need to you hug me, now father," his adult son whispered, not raising his head, "please."

With that, Vegeta stood silently and motionless as remembered those times when he himself had used that very same word, in that very same tone, also with tremendous sorrow behind it. And then he remembered watching Kakarrot openly embrace his adult son that day high up on Kami's lookout. Vegeta then realized how different his life would be now, had the simple word 'please' spoken from the depths of the hope within his heart not reached and stopped Kakarrot from brutalizing him, or if Bulma had chosen to not respond to him when she had chosen to leave him. 

And Vegeta determined that he would no longer allow his behavior to still be controlled by the dictates of his former life with Frieza. Rather, he chose to embrace and step more fully into his life as a Saiyan Prince and warrior of old and if the great Saiyan King in the next dimension was willing to step down off of his throne to embrace him, a stranger, in front of thousands, then he most certainly could embrace his son in the quiet solitude of that bedroom. And Vegeta was deeply touched by his choice.

With that, Trunks didn't hear his father's footsteps as he quietly walked over to the edge of the bed, and he was completely stunned when he felt the touch of a gentle hand come to rest upon his head, lightly stroking his hair. For a moment, he thought his mom had returned, it felt so familiar to him. And he looked up, only to find himself staring into a pair of onyx black eyes that were already overflowing with tears. And without a word, a legendary warrior of old sat on down on the bed beside him in the form of his father, and Vegeta reached around him, embracing him, tucking him away within his powerful warrior's arms and heart. And never before had Trunks been touched this way, and he realized that it was something he had been longing for his entire life. His father seemed to be literally drawing the tension and the pain out from deep within him. And when his tears had run their full course, his father withdrew and stood beside the bed.

And Trunks took a deep breath and with his heart pounding in throat as he decided this was the time, that it was now or never, to tell his father what he had been waiting all of his life to say to him.

Trunks watched his father watch him as he finally found the strength to say, "I love you" to him. 

And then he watched the look in Vegeta's eyes, fearing the worst because he knew his heart would shatter beyond repair if his father rejected him now, and he was shocked to discover how deeply he cared about his father's reaction, and he could barely breathe as he watched for those signs that simply did not come. And he could not believe it when Vegeta began to speak to him, quietly and with compassion in his voice.

"I know you do, son. I could see it in your eyes all those years ago when you hovered me in your time machine, as you were getting ready to return to your time after your defeat of Frieza. But, at that time I did not understand it, and it angered me."

"Then you returned again, and not only was your affection for me increasingly apparent, but I also became aware that you were the adult version of the son I had planted within Bulma's body. And my confusion continue to grow, feeding my anger toward you and to add to it, I found myself seething with jealousy over your affection for Kakarrot. And when it became apparent to me that I was second to Kakarrot, even in the eyes of my own son, I grew to hate you and him and everyone else".

"But then came the day when I saw Cell attack you, and as I watched the life drain from your body, something quickened deep inside of me and that instinctive Saiyan bonding between parent and offspring that Frieza had attempted to breed out of us as a people was reawakened within me. And it was because of that awakening that I lost control and attacked Cell for harming you and it was because of that awakening that I determined to reside with my infant son and allow my affection for the both of you to continue to grow within me."

"Trunks, I simply did not know how to separate out the love that I carry in my heart for Chibi from the love I carry in my heart for you, and so I determined a long time ago not to even try. I merely accepted it for what it was, and I had hoped that the day would come when I could tell you of it".

And father and son decided to stay together in each other's embrace a little while longer that morning in that bedroom at Capsule Corporation and Trunks was both shocked and saddened as he began to realize that for the last eleven years this is what he thought he had been freely given by Gohan that night before the warrior had been killed. All this time, he had believed that his little 13 year old heart and body had been touched by the hands of unconditional love, but he was starting to realize now that it had been an entirely different kind of touch, and Trunks knew he needed to tell Vegeta about it, but not now. Right now, all he wanted to do was bask in the moment as he was safely tucked away within those powerful arms of love.

And when Vegeta finally opened the door to that bedroom and walked out, Chibi indeed came rushing in like the very wind itself and hopped up onto Trunks bed. And Chibi looked at Trunks.

"I'm sorry your mom died, Trunks. Do you need a hug? It's okay to cry you know, at least that what Poppa says". 

And Trunks began to realize that the Saiyan warrior who had just walked out of his bedroom was the realization of the hope that Mirai Bulma had seen within his heart and carried within her heart and never let go of all those years, and Trunks felt moved to go to the quiet place and tell her that he had just seen the man that she had fallen so deeply in love with, the one that only she could see at the time because he was so completely hidden within himself. 

"Chibi, does your mom have a woodworking shop here at Capsule Corporation? I need to make something special for my mom and I want you to come with me and help me with it, okay?"

__

"'Trunks', she would say, 

'the heart of a good person is filled with the wings of love 

that are just bursting at the seams to take to flight and touch someone else". 

__

Mirai Bulma

* Chapter 2 - A Farewell to Fallen Heroes

Sources

__

Dragonballz by Akira Toriyama

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The Shattering by LindaN

**__**

(To be continued)


	4. The Heart of Hope

****

Disclaimer: LindaN doesn't own DBZ or the characters therein, she simply writes about them and loves them.

Summary: From this point forward in the story, you will be brought headlong in to Trunks' world. We find out in this chapter that he's gay and that he has returned to the past, not only to seek out Vegeta and his family, but to seek out that Z fighter that he fell in love with during his last journey back to our time. You will _very_ surprised to know which of them sought out our Mirai Trunks while he was here getting ready to train to fight cell, starting something they have yet to finish. 

(Kleenex: I'm not sure. This is an intense chapter)

__ __ ****

The Heart of Hope

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Becoming the object of Frieza's brutal passions and hatred was why he was taken from the King in the first place ..*

The Shattering, Chapter 10

After it had became apparent to Bulma that both of her son's were safely out of the house for a while, she picked up the phone and began to make preparations for Trunk's Welcome Home party. And she had managed to contact everyone this time, even Tien, and personally invited him so he had no excuse not to make an appearance. And when he asked if he could bring along a guest, Bulma assured him that would not be a problem as her home, as well as her heart, was large enough to hold whoever wished to be there.

In the meantime, Chibi had taken Trunks to Bulma's woodworking shop where he carefully crafted a new memorial marker for Mirai Bulma. It was made from oak and not cherry and he chose not to create an inset. He simply wanted her presence to be part of the beauty of the quiet place, and after he placed the marker in a spot he thought she would like, they both stood talking for a few minutes with Chibi beginning to try to talk Trunks into going over to Goten's house, so he could be shown off a little bit by Chibi. 

"How come you don't want to go to Goten's house?", Chibi asked teasingly, with a fake pout on his face.

"I think you're stronger than Gohan", Chibi said proudly. "Gohan's a wimp compared to you big brother, he really is! So why don't you want to go?"

"Oh, I don't know Chibi, I just don't feel like company today", Trunks answered him.

"That's a lie Trunks! Poppa has been teaching me to read a person's ki, and yours just went weird!" Chibi said, standing with feet apart and arms crossed, assuming classic stance of his father.

"Okay, I was trying to be polite. I do not want to go to Goten's house right now. And yes, I do know why. And no, I do not wish to tell you my reasons. Was that better?" Trunks asked with a tinge of sarcasm added to his voice.

"Much! But you were getting mad at me, weren't you Trunks! Your ki went right through the roof" laughed Chibi. 

"Chibi! You're starting to drive me nuts with your ki readings and analyses of me. Stop it." 

And with that, the two of them decided to go sit beside the waterfall and just enjoy the day together.

"Trunks, have you ever done what mom and dad where doing yesterday?" the little lavender hair boy asked, obviously still impacted by it.

"Chibi, I hate these stupid games people play sometimes when it comes to talking about sex. If you're going to talk to me about it, which you seem to need to do, then I want you to either say having sex or making love, okay?". Trunks said, remembering yesterday.

"And now, to answer your question, no, I have never made love to a girl", Trunks answered.

"Has a girl ever made love to you?" Asked Chibi with a devilish glint in his eyes.

"Chibi, girls don't have boy parts, but there are ways that they can make love to boys. And no, a girl has never made love to me", Trunks answered.

"Have you ever kissed a girl?" Chibi continued

"Chibi! What's with all your questions?" Trunks answered, trying to avoid Chibi's questions.

"Trunks, you are such a grownup! Just a second ago, you were all talking big about not playing games and now listen to you!". 

"I'm sorry Chibi ask me again. And while you're at it, for the next 5 minutes ask me as many questions as you can think of and I be forced to answer each one honestly. But, after the 5 minutes are up, you give on your questions for a while. Okay?"

"Okay! Complete honesty, right Trunks? Even if you don't like my questions? Right?" and Chibi was reveling in the opportunity that lay before him. Yes!

"You have my word on it!" And Trunks smiled, and wondered what harm could possibly be done in 5 short minutes.

And with that, they synchronized their watches, and smiled at each other as the contest began.

"So, have you ever kissed a girl? Chibi asked again.

"No".

'How come? Don't you like girls?"

"Not so far, Chibi"

"Trunks, do boys ever make love to boys?" And Chibi asked this question of Trunks in all innocence, but was noticing a wild change in his ki.

"Sometimes, Chibi, I don't know where your questions are going, but would you please say man or men rather than boy?" And with that, Trunks became aware of how intensely Chibi was watching him. 

"Have you ever made love to a man? And Chibi felt as though he had just hit on a tender spot with Trunks as his ki was literally bouncing of the walls now.

"No Chibi, I have not"

"Has a man ever made love to you" And Chibi wasn't sure just what he had asked Trunks, but it sure was a sore spot with him.

"Chibi! this line of questioning is going nowhere. Please stop it, okay?

"Cut the crap, Trunks!" 

"Chibi, you're only eight, where did you learn to talk like that?

"Cut the crap, Trunks!"

"I know you're going to be mad at me Chibi, but this conversation is over." And Trunks was wishing he could simply dig a hole and crawl into it.

"You are such a grownup, Trunks. You lied to me and I hate you. I'm sorry you came back here!"

"Chibi, if I answer your question, will you stop being so mad at me and not ask me any more questions?

"We still have 2 and a half minutes left Trunks. Don't promise me something if you don't mean it or can't do it. It's all or nothing". 

And Chibi continued to watch him intently, and it was obvious that he was reading Trunks ki and was demanding now, in a manner remarkably like his father's, that Trunks finish what he started.

"Yes Chibi, a man has made love to me". Trunks told Chibi, unable to make eye contact with him.

"Oh wow, Trunks!" Chibi said smiling "How many times?"

"Once, a long time ago".

"Chibi, I can't do this anymore. Be mad at me if you have to, but I can't answer anymore of these questions." 

And with that, Trunks went and sat down alone over by the grove of pine trees and he wondered how long it would take Chibi to figure out who he was talking about and he was saddened because he missed Gohan so much.

But now, someone both new and old was looming on the horizon and it would be the continuation of a love started during the training right before the Cell Games. They hadn't made love yet, but they were destined to. And Trunks wondered if he'd be at the party tonight. He hoped he'd be there. He needed for him to be there. 

Trunks glanced over at Chibi, who was deep in thought and Trunks knew it was only a matter of time until Chibi figured out that he had been with Gohan all those years ago. And while he loved Gohan and always felt that he was in love with him, he no longer felt as comfortable about what happened between them, and after finally feeling his father's embrace and what that type of love was supposed to feel like, Trunks found that he was not feeling right about it at all. And he wished his father was here right now so he could tell him that it wasn't Gohan's fault, that he was the one who wanted it to happen and that he wanted his touch so badly that he pushed Gohan, and pushed until he responded. No, it wasn't Gohan's fault.

And Chibi Trunks was extremely bright, far beyond his years, and he set about in his mind to see if he could figure out who the person was who had made love to Trunks. 

'Okay', Chibi Trunks thought to himself, 'Trunks didn't want to go to Goten's house, which was weird. But he said it happened once, which meant it was probably with someone from the future. So, who would be at Goten's house who would have also been in the future', Chibi asked himself. And you could have knocked him over with a feather! Gohan! And Mirai Gohan. With that, Chibi tried to remember how old Trunks would have been when Mirai Gohan was killed and he realized that Trunks would have been only 13 years old when this man would have made love to him. 

'How could this be!', Chibi thought to himself. He knew adults shouldn't touch children because from a very early age, his father had told him that while most males in the world were harmless, there were also those males who liked to hurt little boys in intimate ways and told him that he needed to be careful. And his father had also told him that sometimes these hurtful men wouldn't even have to force themselves, that the worst times were when the hurtful men would be kind, persuading a little boy to do grown up things to them all on their own. And he told Chibi to never let an adult, male or female, touch him in an intimate way until he was an adult himself. 

Chibi felt so sad for Trunks that something so awful could have happened to him and he seemed so clueless about it, that he started to cry.

"Chibi, are you crying?

"It's okay, Trunks. Something just made me really sad, is all. No, that's a lie! It's not okay. Hold me Trunks!"

And with that, the little warrior, wise far beyond his years flung himself into Trunks arms, allowing Trunks to envelope him. And for the first time his young life, Chibi was going to break a promise and tell his father what had happened to Trunks. Because something else his father would tell him about those hurtful men is that they would never wanted anyone to know what they were doing, that their behavior was protected only by secrecy. 'I'm sorry Trunks', Chibi thought to himself while cradled in Trunks' arms, 'I love you too much not to tell Poppa. He'll know what to do."

"Gees Chibi, please tell me what is wrong with you. If it's me, whatever I did or said, I didn't mean to. Chibi, say something!"

"Just shut up for a while, Trunks', Chibi said, "then I want to go home." And when his tears had run their full course, Chibi took to flight without even saying goodbye.

And he arrived at Capsule Corporation to a flurry of activity as Bulma was putting the finishing touches on the house for Trunks' party later in the day.

"Mom, where's Poppa?'

"I think he's upstairs getting cleaned up for later. Chibi, are you okay?" Bulma asked, concerned about her son now.

"No, mom, I'm not. And I gotta go find my dad right now." 

Chibi found his father standing by the edge of his bed wearing a fresh pair of sweats, and he was still wet from his shower as he was arranging the garments he was going to wear for the upcoming party. Detecting his young son's ki, Vegeta looked up to see the boy standing there with his tear stained cheeks and he went over to him and asked him what had happened to make him so upset. And in what seemed like one long nonstop breath, Chibi blurted the whole thing out, complete with how he tricked Trunks into telling him most of what he told him. Vegeta then sat down on the bed and asked Chibi to sit there too.

"Son, first of all, it is not trickery to demand that a person to be true to their word. Had you tricked him into promising in the first place, then the fault would have been yours. You showed the true nature of your warrior spirit today when you chose to hold him accountable to his promise, and for that I am very proud of you, son".

"And now, I know this will be difficult for you to hear, but I will not dishonor him by telling him that I know about that event you believe happened when he was 13. If he ever chooses to tell me of it, it will become an entirely different matter. Believe me son, I probably know better than most what would happen to his pride if I approached him with the knowledge I now have. And you are right, Chibi, if it happened as you fear, it would have been horrible and had I been in his life at that time, I would have destroyed any man who touched my son that way. Yet that is not the case, and we must deal with it as it is now. You must never tell him you told me. 

"But Trunks, I know this has hurt you and I want you to come to me and we will freely discuss whatever might be troubling you about it".

"Chibi, I will have a problem with any mate Trunks winds up with only if that choice causes him to live a life without honor or pride. And I will personally defend my son's right to live his life as he sees fit. Just as it is of concern to no one how your mother and I live our lives together as a mated pair, it is also of no concern to anyone how Trunks and any mate he chooses or accepts will live their lives either. I have noticed that many people from this planet are overly concerned with things that are of no harm to them.

"And Chibi, now I want you to know that I realized that my recent behavior with your mother in front of you has been shameful, I've hurt you and I am sorry, son. We have spoken, your mother and I, and we will no longer just up and retreat to our bedroom, leaving you on your own to imagine what we must be doing in it. I hadn't realized how cruel that was to you. You are growing up, Trunks, and we…..no, Trunks, me, I had forgotten that".

Vegeta looked into those soft lavender eyes that had begun to well up with tears and he told young Trunks just how fortunate that brand new baby girl was going to be to have a big brother like him. Then he asked his young son if he would mind spending most of the very next day with him, helping him work in the baby's room, because there was much to assemble and he was a warrior, not a builder, and he was not good with such things. Vegeta then told Chibi that he knew he possessed incredible skill in those areas, and would appreciate his help. 

He looked again at his young son who was now sitting beside him proudly, chattering away about all the things he was good at, preparing in his mind for tomorrow and Vegeta was touched as he wondered if he hadn't actually found something in his life that he was better at than Kakarotto. And he never, not in his wildest imaginations, would have believed that he would find himself so completely in love with fatherhood. He sat in wonder as he watched young Trunks continue beside him with his imaginary tools in hand as he assembled the crib and decided which wall it should go up against, and their time together was interrupted only by the sound of Bulma's voice reminding them to hurry up and get ready because company would be arriving soon. And with that, Chibi jumped off the bed and ran down the hallway to get ready..

Vegeta arose from the bed and walked over to window and thought about his adult son and he wondered if Trunks was controlling his world, or if his world was controlling him. He knew all to well the effects of violations, but at least for him it was obvious from the very beginning who was the aggressor was and who the victim was. And he wanted to go to his adult son and talk to him, but he knew he couldn't as it would only serve to hurt him more right now, and all Vegeta could do was wait to see if Trunks would come to him. Yet, Vegeta realized he was not good at waiting and thought that perhaps the time had come to put the horrors of what had happened to him at the hands of Frieza to good use and go to Trunks with it, and have it be the basis for building trust without violating his pride.

And Vegeta decided that he himself had kept Frieza's secrets long enough, that what happened to him when he was a little boy and young adult wasn't his fault, that he had survived it and emerged triumphant and that the telling of it wouldn't change that. He determined to share with Trunks that the most painful times for him throughout those years were when his little body would be persuaded by Zarbon to respond to his touch, time and time again, in spite of his efforts to the contrary. And even though each time, he would beg him to please stop dishonoring him in that way, he was told that it was his fault and that he wanted it, and then his little body would used and violated in unspeakable ways, and when Zarbon was done with him, he'd always would be delivered back to Napa with a full accounting of what an eager little boy the proud Prince had been and then he would have to live with the look in Napa's eyes.

And since was forced to share a small room with Napa on Frieza's ship, he was also forced to live with humiliation of knowing Napa heard him weep uncontrollably after the lights went out, crying himself to sleep at night. 

And then one night, in the middle of being "handled" by Dodoria and Frieza, and without conscious effort on his part, he safely tucked his heart deeply away inside of himself for safekeeping, and forgot where he had put it so that no one could ever find it or hurt it again, and then he went and found all of his tender feelings -- love, compassion, empathy, joy, and even hope -- and safely tucked those away for safekeeping as well. He loved himself enough to do whatever he had to do to insure his own survival. And the only way he knew to survive was to become part of very thing that was trying to destroy him, realizing that it would have to destroy itself in order to destroy him. And when he was delivered back to Napa that night, no tears were shed, no feelings of shame were felt, no feelings existed at all anymore, at least none that he was aware of. 

And when Zarbon came to get him the next day, he was the one who was brutally attacked and Vegeta delivered himself back to Napa. And he became consumed with hatred and the quest to become strong enough to defeat Frieza. And he stayed that way until the power of love entered his life in the form of a beautiful blue haired woman he first encountered on the Planet Namek. And she wouldn't let go, and then his son wouldn't let go, until all three of them together, went and found those hidden places deep within him.

And now, if his adult son had actually experienced intimate touch at age 13 by a man in his twenties, then he too had been violated and would need to begin his own healing, and Vegeta determined to stand beside him every step of the way. He planned to tell Trunks that there was no shame to be found if his little body responded to hands that that shouldn't have been there in the first place. .

And Vegeta was relieved to finally realize that his eyes were no longer welling with tears over the thought what he had endured in his life, that his shame had been replaced by a need to embrace the hopeful heart of that little boy way back to that first night Frieza raped him when he was just 5 years old. He came to realize that over time he had been returning to that little heart of hope that had been left alone to gather the shattered remains of itself, and he had been systematically repairing it and putting it back together again all along. 

__

For no one was there to comfort him that night his beautiful young mother was brutally raped and killed by Frieza, and no one there to help him pick up the pieces of his shattered little 5 year old body after Frieza had raped him too that night, and there was no one there to protect him from the daily brutality and humiliation he was forced to endure after Frieza had taken him from the King. Becoming the object of Frieza's brutal passions and hatred was why he was taken from the King in the first place ..

The Shattering, _Chapter 10_

Vegeta's onyx black eyes now began to well with tears though, as he came to realize that while he would always carry the scars of that shattered little 5 year old heart, they were honorable scars earned in a battle for his very existence. And he determined that he was a very remarkable man, even if no one else would ever know the full of extent of what he had overcome in his life. He would know, and Anuhea would know, and he found that he was okay with that. 

****

Sources

The Shattering, chapters,7,8,9,10* by LindaN

The History of Trunks, Funimation Studios

Dragonballz by Akira Toriyama

~~~

__

Imagine

"_and they say, I'm a dreamer, _

but I'm not the only one,

I hope someday you will join us,

And the world will live as one."

John Lennon.

~~~

__

Intolerance is intolerable.

LindaN

**__**

(to be continued)


	5. The Dance of Ai Shiteiru

****

Disclaimer: Remains constant. 

****

Summary: Trunks' wedding night unfolds for us as he and the openly gay warrior who is in love with him claim each other as lifelong mates. Ai Shiteiru is a Japanese term which literally means "_to know love" in a deep love, life-mate sort of way_. 

And now, join Mirai Trunks on this journey toward happiness as his story continues. 

****

Alerts: Mature content - Yaoi 

(Kleenex? Not this time! I think you might laugh some though. (^_ ~). 

~~~~~

**__**

The Dance of Ai Shiteiru 

"OH, MY LOVE, FOR THE FIRST TIME IN MY LIFE,  
MY EYES ARE WIDE OPEN.  
OH, MY LOVER, FOR THE FIRST TIME IN MY LIFE,  
MY EYES CAN SEE".

**__**

OH MY LOVE  
_By John Lennon_ _and Yoko Ono_

****

When the warrior got the call from Bulma telling him that her adult son, Trunks, had returned permanently from the future, and that she was throwing him a welcome home party, he couldn't have been more pleased. And now, he was moved by the intensity of his desire as he prepared for the evening that awaited him at Capsule Corporation. The warrior had already prepared his 17 year daughter for the fact that if the evening progressed as he hoped, she would be spend the night at Capsule Corporation and he would return for her in the morning. And Hannah had smiled and wished her father good fortune with this man because she believed that her father had spent far too much of his life alone. She had known all of her life that her father was gay, and would be shocked and almost saddened at this point to see him in the arms of a woman. It simply was not who he was.

Her mom had always been honest with Hannah about the nature of her relationship with the warrior. Hannah knew that for her father, it was a deep friendship, void of passion, but her unfortunate mom had fallen deeply in love with him and that had continued for years. And then one night 18 years ago, she had told Hannah that she had approached the warrior and told him of her deep need to have a child. And she had known that the warrior had always felt a sense of loss because he felt fatherhood was beyond his grasp. And so, when she told him of her desire to have him father a child for her, he agreed to participate. What Hannah's mom didn't tell her was that he never once opened his eyes, and that he had prepared himself apart from her, and when the time came for intimacy with her, it was only for his release. Yet, he lovingly held close her afterwards, and told her he was very pleased about the possibilities of being a father, while at the same time making it very clear that even if this act produced no child, it would never happen again.

And the warrior looked over at his daughter, and he was moved by the fact this beautiful young woman now stood in his home. It wasn't often that he got to see her and now he had the honor of spending two whole weeks with her, as her mom was off on her honeymoon, finally allowing herself to respond to the love a man who not only loved her, but loved her gender too. He would always carry love in his heart for Hannah's mother, yet he was never in love with her and she had never stirred his passions, however hard she had tried over time. And he smiled when he thought of her now and what he hoped she was doing, and he hoped that her mate was a man of great passion, and was giving her what she needed and deserved. 

And as his thoughts turned to lavender haired object of his passion, the tall warrior wasn't sure why the son of Bulma and Vegeta appealed to him as he did. Perhaps it was because his parents were two of the most erotic people the warrior had ever met. He had grown up with Bulma, and she was beautiful and he almost found himself almost feeling genuine desire for her on occasion. And Vegeta was one of the most beautiful males he had ever seen, and it was a good thing for the Saiyan Prince that he was so hostile at the time, making him extremely undesirable in the warrior's eyes. Perhaps it was that their son was a combination of the both of them, even though much of his potential was still hidden from his own view.

Eight years ago, when Trunks returned right before the Cell Games, the warrior could have easily taken the boy, but he simply was not willing to live with the thought that he had seduced a 16 year old boy because of his own selfish need, a boy who's loyalties and ties to the future were still too strong to hold him in the past. And so he refused the lavender haired boy's advances deciding it was easier and more honorable to live a life of self-control. And he told Trunks that should he ever decide to return, they would once again explore the possibilities of a life together.

"Are you ready, Hannah?" he asked as he gently gathered his beautiful daughter up into arms imagining the look on all their faces when he, an openly gay warrior, walked into Capsule Corporation with his daughter on his arm and walked out with the adult Trunks Briefs in them. And he loved the idea of it.

"Lets go introduce you to my world, daughter", he said laughing. And with that, she wrapped her arms around his neck, and holding her close, he took to flight toward Capsule Corporation in his arms, even though she knew full well how to fly on her own.

As was typical for Bulma, this party was a huge success and almost everyone had shown up, even Piccolo. Gohan had brought Videl, and Bulma figured it was only a matter of time until the two of them got married. They were almost sickening in their continuous pawing of each other. And she was relieved to see that her husband was at least tolerating being in the same room with Goku. Krillin and 18 had just arrived, and she was just in her beginning stages of pregnancy and she looked so cute and embarrassed each time she attempted to explain that she really was a human, but that Dr. Gero had altered her body and that she was indeed a fully functioning woman. And to make matters worse for her, Krillin would follow close behind telling everyone just how well she functioned. Master Roshi, Puar (who decided it was best to leave Yamcha at home) and Oolong, were there along with Mr. and Mrs. Briefs, and Goku, ChiChi and Goten. And everyone seemed to be having a wonderful time, and it felt good to get everyone back together again.

But Vegeta kept watching Trunks, as something was up and his curiosity was piqued to the point of not letting go of it until he determined what was going on. Even Chibi was aware that something was up with Trunks as he approached his father, telling Vegeta that he had noticed that Trunks' ki was bouncing off the walls. So the two of them together set out on a mission that evening, and it became a father and son detective team, Holmes and Watson at it's finest.

But they didn't have to wait very long when the doorbell rang and Tienshinhan walked in with his beautiful daughter on his arm. And for just a second, the sound of silence in the room was deafening as everyone noticed that he was there with a female.

And he stood there laughing at everyone and told them all to pick their jaws up off he ground, that they looked like a bunch of stupid bakas that way!

"Let me introduce you all to my beautiful daughter Hannah" he began, "who will be staying with me for a little while this summer while Launch is on her honeymoon. And let me dispel your foolish notions right now about where, when, and how she came about between Launch and me, because just like with all of your own children, the stork brought this beautiful child to us as well. I hope you will all make her feel welcome", and turning to Trunks as he spoke, he added, "and I have told her all about you".

"Poppa! He looked at Trunks the same way you look at mom sometimes", Chibi 'Watson' said smiling, feeling proud of himself for discovering the first clue.

"Yes son, I saw that too. This evening is going to prove to be very interesting! We'll keep an eye on things, Chibi, but for now you go play and have fun", the Saiyan 'Sherlock' said as he launched his young son back to the party. 

Trunks was now trying to act very casual as he mingled with everyone and Chibi finally got his chance to introduce Trunks to Goten, and the first question Goten asked was whether or not he was stronger that Gohan. And with that, Goten called Gohan over and Vegeta saw a different type of look in his adult son's eyes as he stood and spoke to Gohan, and his blood began to boil.

"Hey Vegeta!" Krillin said complete with the back slap that seemed to accompany him now, which nearly always sent Vegeta 3 feet into the air as his feet stayed on the ground, because he always seemed to do it whenever Vegeta was deep in thought about something.

And with that, Vegeta bent over, got real close to Krillin's ear and told him in no uncertain terms that he was prepared to blast Krillin right into oblivion, with great joy and without remorse, should he ever decide to touch him again. And with that, Vegeta walked away. And Gohan had returned to Videl.

It didn't take long for Vegeta to realize that a dance as old as time was beginning to unfold right before his very eyes between his son and Tienshinhan. Their attraction to each other was obvious to him. He noticed that Tien was bold in approach with Trunks, yet Trunks was too afraid to respond openly, even though he appeared to want to. And Vegeta found himself growing angry over his son's weakness, determining that Trunks would not be suitable mate for someone as powerful as Tienshinhan if he kept this up.

And growing frustrated with Trunks as well, Tien sat down beside him.

"I have noticed that throughout this evening, you look at me with desire, Trunks, but you have yet to even join me or come and stand by me. Why is that? Have I completely misread your desire for me? I had come here tonight anticipating that this would be the night in which we would take each other as mates, and now I find that you are still too ashamed of who you are to even come and talk with me. So be it then, Trunks. I won't have you if you refuse to walk openly with me." And with that, Tienshinhan got up and walked away and joined the rest of the z fighters who were already in a lively conversation.

And Trunks looked at Krillin and 18, and Krillin had his arm around 18 and was showing her great affection, and he wasn't ashamed. And he looked at Gohan, who couldn't seem to keep his hands off Videl and he wasn't ashamed, and then he noticed the way Goku would look at ChiChi as though he wanted to devour her just like when his father looked at his mom. Trunks knew that the love and the desire that he felt in his heart for Tienshinhan was real too, just as real and as just as powerful as what the straight couples were feeling, and he truly wanted to spend the rest of his life with Tien and so, however timidly, he arose to his feet, knowing that he was about to come out and show everyone there that he was gay. He hoped that Vegeta would still love him but his father was not his future. The tall warrior that he was about to lose was, and Trunks decided that he wanted that future more than he had ever wanted anything else in his life. And so he went and stood beside Tien at that conversation, and when Tienshinhan put his arm around him and smiled at him, he didn't pull back or stop him. And Trunks began to tremble, and it was not from fear. 

Trunks saw that the others adjusted quickly after they realized what was transpiring right before their eyes and nothing changed in the way they looked at him. And Vegeta was proud of his son for going after what he wanted, and Tienshinhan had earned a new level of respect in Vegeta's heart for making his son do so. 'He is a strong and powerful warrior and he is a man of honor', Vegeta thought to himself, 'my son has done well'. 

Vegeta was not bound by human male standards of masculinity and mating. He detested weakness and was aroused by strength and power, and simply was marked as Bulma's mate by her a long time ago and he happily expressed himself intimately within those confines, but not because he felt it was wrong for two males or two females to form mated pairs. For Vegeta, the only absolute truth in his life worthy of judgment was that flagrant weakness was shameful and detestable; a concept that was not confined to sexual matters alone, in Vegeta's mind. 

And in the course of the evening, Vegeta approached Tienshinhan and in accord with Saiyan tradition as old as time itself, Vegeta turned possession of his child over to the warrior and suggested he take Trunks out to the quiet place to perform their dance of Ai Shiteiru. With that, Tien said that he had already prepared his daughter for what he hoped would happen on this very evening and he asked Vegeta if he and Bulma would care for Hannah until morning for him. Vegeta agreed and then asked Tien if he wouldn't mind making a dramatic exit, to rid his son of any residual shyness he might still be holding in his heart. And Tien smiled.

When Tienshinhan walked back into the living room where everyone was now grouped together in one huge, happy huddle, he announced to his daughter in front of all of them that she would be spending the night at Capsule Corporation because this evening was his wedding night. And with that he walked over to Trunks, smiled and kissed him lightly on the forehead, and then flung his shocked and embarrassed lavender haired mate up over his shoulder and walked with him like that for a while, as he made a point of walking up everyone, casually saying goodbye, lingering with them and telling them all how much he enjoyed seeing everyone again. Tienshinhan was a man with a tremendous sense of humor and that, in combination with the fact that he really didn't care what anyone thought about him, was going to prove to be one of the best things that had ever happened in the life of Trunks Briefs.

"I hate you Tien!" was all Trunks said as he buried his face in his hands from embarrassment.

"Then why are you trembling?" Tienshinhan asked as he walked out the door. 

And Vegeta laughed until tears came to his eyes as he thought about the look on his son's face as he was launched up over Tienshinhan's shoulder.

And all the way out to the quiet place, Trunks protested over Tien's behavior and told him how embarrassing it was to be put on display that way and told him to never do that again. And when they arrived at the quiet place, Tien set Trunks down and simply told him that if he was so mad about it, then he should just go home and come back whenever he chose to grow up a little bit. And with that, the powerful warrior stood there with his arms crossed, smiling at Trunks.

"I'm sorry, Tien. I don't want to go home, I want you to make love to me", Trunks said as he began to walk over to his new mate. 

"Well, of course I will, Trunks!" Tien said with great amusement in his voice. "And this is the part now where I play seme all over your body and our roles become defined, right? And I will become the husband and you will become the good little wife, and we will live happily ever after, with you spending your days cooking away in my kitchen, wearing your little lacey apron while monarch butterflies flit around your head every where you go! And whenever you step outside, the hills around my home will literally come alive with the sound of music, marveling at your mere presence? Is that what you were thinking, Trunks?" And with that, Tienshinhan continued to stand before Trunks with his arms crossed and a smile on his face. 

"Don't look so hurt Trunks" he said with gentle amusement. "Now let me tell you now how things are really going to be". 

And Tien walked up to Trunks and embraced him and began to touch him erotically and intimately as he spoke to him, arousing the sleeping passions within the lavender haired man.

"Trunks, I will not allow you to fear my body and I will not allow you to fear your passion and I will not allow you to continue to believe that you are a helpless little girl who is going to lay passively in my arms every night. You are going to take me now, Trunks. I want you to feel the power of your passion, I want you to take possession of that which you fear, because after tonight, I will not have you if you fear me, and I will not have you if you are afraid to walk openly with me in the light of day".

"Don't be afraid, Trunks", Tien whispered, touching him and moving against him, breaking down his defenses and arousing him. And soon, Trunks began to reach out to his lover, experiencing for the first time intimate places that openly desired him and watching Tien watch him, he removed his own garments, one by one, dropping each piece to the ground and he watched Tien's hand reach out to encircle him as he removed each article of clothing Tien wore.

He could barely breathe as he moved around behind Tienshinhan and embraced him and Trunks could feel the arousal building in the warrior and he took a deep breath and experienced the warmth of another's body for the first time. As his lover began to respond to Trunks' love making, slowly at first, and then with increasing passion Trunks thought he would lose consciousness for a moment, yet Tien's intensity wouldn't let him stop. And he soon felt himself reaching that point where passion overtakes reason, and he soon found himself lost within his passion as he began to make love with complete abandon. And he felt powerful, and he felt alive, and he became lost in a sea of sensation that was too intense for words.

And he could hear the sounds of passion escaping from Tienshinhan's mouth as he was exquisitely verbal and Trunks knew that he was giving him pleasure, and he felt driven to possess the object of his passion and conquer him, and he transcended to a new level within himself as a man and as a lover.

Tienshinhan was deeply moved as he journeyed through the awakening process with his new mate. He experienced the change in the way Trunks made love to him as he crossed over each barrier, and now he was coming into himself and experiencing the joys of who he really was as a gay man and on top of that, Tien realized that Trunks had subconsciously begun to take possession of him. This part of the dance of Ai Shiteiru was just for Trunks, and Tien maintained his self-control, planning to lose himself a little later on. And when Trunks release came, Tien just held him close because he too had found that which he had been searching for all of his life, which now he had found in the heart and body of the most exquisitely beautiful man he had ever seen.

"And just what is that silly little grin on your face for, Trunks? If you think you have convinced me to wear lacey little aprons for you, you are sadly mistaken, koibito", Tienshinhan had said with great love in his voice. "And right now you are glowing like the morning sun, so from now on, I will also call you Asahi. On this very night, Asahi, we are performing the dance of Ai Shiteiru and are claiming each other as lifelong mates, are you aware of that? This is our wedding night, and I am about to complete the dance with you and I want you to leave right now if you have any regrets or any reservations. And now Asahi, ask me to continue, or ask me to go away". 

"Don't stop now, please Tien". And Trunks looked at Tienshinhan with the fullness of the love that was in his heart. Nothing had ever felt so right or so natural to him and he felt as though he had just come home after a long journey of wandering alone. He didn't feel alone anymore, he felt connected on that deep spiritual level to the person that he was born to be with. And Tienshinhan felt the same. 

And with that, Trunks took the container with the special oils that Tien had brought, and applied them to the fullness of his lover's manliness and he allowed the warrior to pick him up and place him on the boulder upon which Tien had laid his garments for softness. And Trunks watched Tien as he moved in closely to him, taking him tightly in his arms and began to make love to him slowly, gently, and sensuously. Tienshinhan took possession of him as he performed the dance of Ai Shiteiru with Trunks in long, slow, rhythmic movements, keeping perfect time with his lover's responses and continuing to watch his eyes. And as his passion was building Tien began to whisper of his love, describing the intensity of what he was experiencing and before long Trunks could no longer contain himself and a release came yet a second time and with that, Tien lost himself and gave up his control, and completed the dance and became mated with his beautiful Asahi at all levels - physically, emotionally, and spiritually. 

And as his mate lie sleeping in his arms, Tienshinhan watched the morning sun begin to rise, and he wondered if in the light of day, their union would continue to grow. With all his heart, he hoped so. He had never allowed himself to love another as totally as he had done with the beautiful lavender haired man sleeping peacefully beside him. Along with his body, Tienshinhan had handed his heart to Asahi, and he hoped he would be gentle with it and keep it close to him always. But Tienshinhan also knew that there were no guarantees in life, and that all that was possible was to live it to it's fullest and with the cautious losing far too much to ever be happy. And with that, he fell asleep, holding the man of his dreams in his arms.

And another set of eyes watched the morning sun rise from the east while laying awake in her bed at Capsule Corporation, and Hannah wondered how she could acquire the object of her desire in just two short weeks. She determined to have the lavender haired man, deciding that he just too beautiful to waste in a relationship with another man. Her father would simply have to find someone else.

Along about midmorning, Trunks woke up to find himself still encased in his lover's arms. It hadn't been a dream, it was real, and he found that he awoke in the fullness of passion and so, he gently woke Tienshinhan up and asked if he could make love to him again, and with that, the two of them lingered in the quiet place for several more hours until their passion had momentarily run its course. 

As they were getting ready to go back to Capsule Corporation, Tien told Trunks that they would dwell together daily after Hannah had returned to her mother, because he did not feel it would be fair to any of them to begin their relationship in the presence of another. But he told Asahi to keep his bedroom window open at night, because he would be there nightly.

They arrived at Capsule Corporation to find Bulma and Hannah sitting at the kitchen table talking, and when her son walked in all he could do was smile at her with that silly little grin on his face. And when she walked up to him and threw her arms around him and she started to cry because he looked so happy. He hugged her and then asked her excitedly where his father was so he could go tell him and Bulma told Trunks that Vegeta and Chibi were up in the baby's room, assembling the things that the baby needed. 

And Tienshinhan sat down at the table with his daughter and told her that he had indeed found the mate that he had been searching for all of his life and that he too, was happy. He told her that Asahi would join him permanently after she had returned to her mother because he did not think it would be fair to any of them to have his new mate join them at his mountain home right now, but Hannah insisted it would be okay with her, and she told her father how unfair that choice was to him, and to Trunks, and told him that she would rather leave right now than to allow him to do that. And so, Tien decided to invite Asahi to come live with him immediately. 

And Trunks stood at the doorway to the baby's room and watched for a few minutes in wonder at Vegeta and Chibi as they worked together assembling something that looked like it was supposed to be a changing table. And he was touched by the fact that his father looked happy and as Vegeta turned and looked him, Trunks could see the fullness of love in his onyx black eyes and he walked over to his father and embraced him and told him that he had found love, and added excitedly that he was married now to a wonderful man who loved him just like he loved Bulma, or at least that was the desire of his heart. 

And Chibi looked at Trunks and asked him in all innocence which of the two of them would be having the babies now so he could come and help put things together with them too, since he was so good at such things. Vegeta looked at Chibi and told him that males did not have the parts required to carry babies in their bodies and, smiling, trying not to laugh, told his young son that they needed to talk about babies and things, and would do so right after Trunks left. He then told Chibi that they needed to finish the baby's room without delay because the baby girl had planned on making her arrival into this world very soon now.

And Vegeta knew this because he could feel the change in Bulma's body as he gently rocked her to sleep last night and today, when he and Chibi were done in the baby's room, Vegeta planned to go to the quiet place to prepare the birthing area for Bulma and his brand new baby girl. After those preparations had been completed, he planned to call the midwife to have her be on standby from this point forward.

"We'll call you after the baby is born, Trunks! We love you!" And the three of them, Vegeta, Bulma, and Chibi, each waved goodbye as they launched Trunks in the fullness of his new life. And with that silly little grin seeming to be permanently fixed to his face now, Trunks took to flight with Tienshinhan to go home. And the both of them were followed closely by Tienshinhan's beautiful 17 year old daughter.

The following is dedicated to Trunks and Tienshinhan.

OH MY LOVE  
_By John Lennon_ _and Yoko Ono_

OH, MY LOVE, FOR THE FIRST TIME IN MY LIFE,  
MY EYES ARE WIDE OPEN.  
OH, MY LOVER, FOR THE FIRST TIME IN MY LIFE,  
MY EYES CAN SEE.  


OH, MY LOVE, FOR THE FIRST TIME IN MY LIFE,  
MY MIND IS WIDE OPEN.  
OH, MY LOVE, FOR THE FIRST TIME IN MY LIFE,  
MY MIND CAN FEEL.  
  
© Lenono Music Ltd

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Intolerance is intolerable.

Sources

Dragonballz by Akira Toriyama

The Shattering by LindaN

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(to be continued - guess who is born in the upcoming chapter? (^_^)


	6. Wings Of A Hero

Disclaimer: remains constant.

Summary: Bra is born, and this chapter is my rendition of how the deep love between Vegeta and Bra, so evident in GT, began. Even when Bra was just a tiny little seed deep within Vegeta's body, he knew her and had been given the opportunity to see her during his time in the afterlife.

And you will find out who actually has the _Heart of Hope _that this entire second story is dedicated too, even if not directly about. 

This chapter also ties the original story and the sequel together, and so I have included a significant passage from The Shattering, which appears in italics in the body of the text. 

I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as I've enjoyed writing it for you. 

Alerts: Relationship between Trunks and Tien continues and is depicted in this chapter.

(Kleenex -- possibly **grin**, but I think you might laugh some too (^_~)

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Wings of a Hero

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Fly, fly, fly high against the sky.

So high I almost touch the sky,

Thank you, thank you,

For you are the wind beneath my wings.

A baby girl's heart song to her father

  


The sounds of preparations were resonating as Vegeta, with Chibi right there beside him, put the finishing touches on the birthing area up at the quiet place. Father and son were currently working on putting up poles from which to hang curtains to insure privacy for Bulma, protecting her from anyone's eyes except Vegeta's as she prepared to give birth. He wanted the birth of this new baby girl to be in accord with the stories Anuhea had told him about the old times in Saiyan culture when living openly as mates was still practiced, and one in which a birth would be a private, and intimate matter, witnessed and shared only by the proud parents. 

In Anuhea's stories, she had told her son that in the Saiyan times before Frieza, the tradition was for the father to deliver the child into the world himself, which seemed only fitting, since the father was the one who placed the seed for the child deep within the body of the mother to begin with. Vegeta found that the idea had appealed to him and it was the desire of his heart for his daughter to be born in this manner. He had learned much about himself and his heritage over the last year and he had embraced it, and took it into himself, accepting himself more fully as he realized that even the ability to transform was connected to the old ways. One day, Vegeta knew he would even sit down and tell Kakarotto the truth about why they could transform, but he also determined with a sarcastic smile that that was something very low on his list of priorities right now. 

The night that his baby girl was conceived, Vegeta had arranged to return from the other world as a fully alive and vital man, but one who had intended to return to the other world the next morning. And with that, on that night 9 months ago, Vegeta had been granted permission by King Yemma to return to earth not only to give his wife the gift of his baby girl but also to tell her goodbye. And standing there looking at those silk pillows on the ground before him, Vegeta's onyx black eyes began to well with tears as he realized just how close he came to never being able to share the birth of his baby girl with Bulma and quietly, he began to weep as he closed his eyes and remembered that night.

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And before he even said a single word, his onyx black eyes were already welling with tears and he struggled to maintain his sense of control and dignity, because what he had to tell her was both exquisitely beautiful, and exquisitely heartbreaking to him.

"Bulma, you are the most beautiful woman that I have ever seen. You are my mate, and I know now that we will continue, even into the next dimension. We will be together for the fullness of time, you and I." And he looked at her smiling

"I have returned here tonight for two reasons Bulma, and it breaks my heart to tell you that I simply cannot dwell in this time and place any longer. I don't know how to be a warrior without the hatred that used to consume me and I don't know how to live without being a warrior. So, I have decided to stay in the other world and wait for you until the fullness of your days here in the land of the living have passed. And when that day comes, I will be waiting for you in the other world, and we will be together there for all time".

And he watched her soft blue eyes begin to well up and overflow with tears because she knew that no matter how hard she was going to try to hold her husband, she would not be able to keep him there. And her tears soon turned into quiet sobs, as she so desperately did not want to let him go.

"And now, and I have planned this ceremony because I have a gift for you. Bulma, deep within my body dwells the seed of an exquisitely beautiful little blue haired girl, and I am here to give her to you tonight". 

"Bulma, as she grows inside of you, come here to our quiet place often and know that I will be able to see you from the other world, and during those times when you yearn for my touch, just feel the breeze as it blows sensuously over your body and know that it will be me, savoring every beautiful inch of you".

"And I would like you to come back, right to this very this spot to give birth to my daughter and Bulma, she'll have blue hair and blue eyes and she'll be beautiful just like you. I want her to born right here on this very bed where we are about to make love and welcome her, and I want you to name her Bra. And the first time you hold my daughter to your breast, know that I will be right there beside you, holding the both of you in my heart, and even now I long to share that moment with you".

…… and so he controlled his passion until her time of abandon overtook her, and at that exact moment, he released the seed containing his baby girl to Bulma, and he knew in heart that his daughter would be wild and passionate just like him. _And when their passion had subsided, all Vegeta wanted to do was hold his wife while she fell asleep in his arms, telling her that when she awoke, he would be gone._

Excerpt from chapter 11, The Shattering.

As his tears still flowed freely down his cheeks, Vegeta looked over at Chibi and realized that it was really because of his young son that he ultimately chose to remain in the land of the living. Chibi Trunks was born with a heart of hope that was so strong that it had become literally become his father's lifeline time and time again, and the connection between the two of them had proved to transcend even the barriers of time and space. His young son had always seemed to know, without conscious effort and without knowing what or even how he knew, those times when his father's very existence depended on him, and Vegeta was deeply moved.

"Poppa? Are you crying" his young asked, looking up at his father. "Do you miss Trunks as much as I do?" And with that, Chibi went rushing into his father's arms and began to cry too. 

For a moment in time, Vegeta struggled against his pride, as he had never before displayed such intimate emotions in front of his son. Yet, the warrior who had destroyed the planet Arlia for his own amusement, the warrior who tried to single handedly destroy all of the earth's special forces and even the very earth itself, and the warrior who could still destroy but now chose not to do so for his own amusement any longer, this warrior chose to drop to his knees in front of his young son and embrace him, holding him tightly while his own tears spilled over onto the lavender haired head he held tightly to his chest.

"Yes, son I miss him too", was all the proud Prince had said.

"Can we call him when we get home, Poppa? I want him to be here too. You've got mom and you'll be real busy when the baby is being born and I will be out here all alone. Can he come too, Poppa? Please?"

"We'll call Trunks when we arrive back home, son. Now, let's dry our tears and get back to work. Your little sister will be here before we know it". Vegeta's heart was now filled with compassion where once there was only hatred and bitterness, and he had come to like that about himself.

"I love you Poppa." Chibi said beaming at his father.

"Yes, son. I know you do". And Vegeta closed his eyes and smiled to himself, knowing that the next question would be, 'do you love me?' He had been through this conversation too many times with his family and he found the predictability of it to be joyful to him. But suddenly he found he did not wish to force his son to ask him that question, not anymore.

"Trunks, I love you and I am at a loss as to how to say it any other way. Now, lets get back to work! Your baby sister will be here before we are ready for her if we do not hurry. I can feel it." 

And as Vegeta and his son wrapped things up at the quiet place, Tien's daughter Hannah lay in her bed thinking about the sounds of a different type that had resonated throughout her father's mountain home the night before. Hannah was simply amazed that it was even physically possible for two people to continue onward like her father and his new mate had done, and she wasn't sure if the sounds of their love making had left her feeling aroused, disgusted, or a combination of the two. But she did find that it only served to intensify her desire have the tall lavender haired man make love to her now and have him make those sounds of pleasure with her instead of with her father. 

And so, she thought about the different ways she could get close to Trunks, and decided that it wouldn't be easy because he thought he was so in love with her father. With that, she decided would probably have to trick him in order to get him to respond to her with passion. Hannah was so sure of her feminine wiles, that she was convinced that once she got Trunks aroused, he would be hers. 

'After all, gay men made love to women too', Hannah thought to herself and felt that her existence was proof of that fact. She did not believe for a minute that her father and mother had been together only one time as they had told her. Rather, Hannah had always thought that her father had repeatedly used her mother during those times he was in between lovers. Her father had always had a steady flow of men into his life from the both the nearby monasteries and to the best of her knowledge still did, up to recently. Not that she had ever seen it with her own eyes and she was surprised that she had found no indication of lewd behavior during her stay there. But she knew what she had heard her mother say that night so long ago when Launch was crying and talking on the telephone. 

While Hannah believed she was falling in love with her father's lover, she knew that she was also excited by the idea of having the chance to hurt her father by taking away this man whom he claimed to love now. She wanted to see his tears flow just like the ones her mother cried over him. Hannah had grown up with the strong desire to punish her father and she simply could not believe the opportunity she had been presented with. 

When she entered the kitchen that morning, her father was sitting at the table drinking a cup of coffee, and Trunks was just standing at the kitchen sink staring out the window that stupid silly grin still on his face. And she was certain that she must have been several shades of crimson when she walked in and sat down.

"Did you sleep well, Hannah?" Tienshinhan asked. "Let me get you a cup of coffee". And with that he walked over to the counter by the coffee pot and instantly got lost in his mate's eyes. It was clear to her that if she were not present, the both of them would be in each other's arms without hesitation. 

And Hannah was surprised to find that she actually wanted the couple to be alone and as much as she wanted Trunks, she also wanted her father to continue to bond with the lavender haired man, making her triumph even that much sweeter when she lowered the boom on him. So she graciously told him that she had changed her mind about the coffee and had decided to go into town for the day to shop and began to walk out of the kitchen. And as she turned to look at them for a moment, she realized she needed to hurry out of the house as they had apparently chosen to proceed on the spot and were about to initiate the kitchen.

With that, the two lovers were far beyond the point in which passion overtakes reason when the phone rang. 

And when Trunks heard the sound of his father's voice on the answering machine, he was so excited that he picked up the phone forgetting what he was currently doing.

"Hi Dad! Did mom have her baby?"

"Are you okay, son? You sound out of breath". And with that, reality set in and Trunks suddenly remembered what he was doing, and now, at that very moment in time he was talking to his father, Vegeta, warrior Prince of the Saiyan race, while he was doing it! Trunks' eyes got as big as saucers as he looked at Tienshinhan and mouthed the words 'help me' while handing him the phone. 

"He's okay, Vegeta", Tien said with great amusement in his voice. "It's just that your son was right in the middle of something and probably should have let the answering machine get the phone".

"Shall I call back later?"

"No, that's okay. My mate has just realized that he's misplaced a very important tool and will not be able to complete the task at hand anyway. Hold on, he'll be right back."

And when Trunks had returned to his adult self he picked up the phone again.

"Hey there Father, what can I do for you", he said, trying to act casual.

And all Trunks heard on the other end of the phone was the sound of laughter. And when Vegeta could breathe again, he invited Trunks to come and stay with them until the baby was born. He told Trunks it was important to all of them, but especially important to Chibi and he told Trunks how Chibi cried for him earlier. And Trunks excitedly agreed and said he'd be there shortly.

"And don't worry, my seme son" Vegeta said still laughing wickedly "I am confident in your ability to locate your important "tool" again. I do not think you have misplaced it permanently; rather, I am under the impression that it is probably only hiding and will come out again under more favorable circumstances. While you have filled my day with laughter, next time do us all a favor, Trunks, and just let the answering machine get the phone." Click. 

And when Trunks sheepishly walked through the front door of Capsule Corporation, Vegeta was still laughing at him. 

"Stop laughing at me, Father, it's not that funny"! But Trunks couldn't help but laugh at himself too for becoming such a scared little boy like he did, and much to his surprise, found a certain amount of pride welling up inside of himself as he realized that his father now knew that he had found yet another way to walk as a warrior!

'Yes, Father, I am indeed a mighty warrior!' Trunks said to himself, as he stood there very tall and proud now in front of his father, as his eyes flashed and a wide smile lit up his face. With that, Trunks looked straight into his father's eyes, challenging him to say something else about it.

And as Bulma's powerful first contraction hit her, the sound of VEEGEETAAAAA, MY WATER JUST BROKE was heard resonating from the kitchen. And for a moment in time, it was Vegeta's eyes that got as big as saucers, because that wasn't supposed to happen for a long time yet.

'I am a warrior', he said to himself as he turned to walk into the kitchen to assess the situation. 'I can do this'. And he was sure Bulma had to be mistaken. 

But when he entered the kitchen, he found her standing in a puddle and she was in another active contraction and knowing he didn't have time to take her out to the quiet place now, he gently gathered Bulma into his arms and carried her upstairs to their bedroom.

As he passed Trunks, he told him the phone number for the midwife was on the refrigerator and told him to call her immediately. He called Chibi and told him what was happening and asked him to get Trunks and fly out to the quiet place quickly and bring back the medical supplies and other things needed for both his mom and his new little sister. And he told Chibi how proud he was to have him be in charge of such an important undertaking. Now, Vegeta already had all of the supplies he needed on hand, but he wanted his son's to be busy doing something important and since he wasn't entirely sure that Bulma was okay, he didn't want to have to worry about them too.

And as he gently helped her out of her clothes another contraction of great intensity hit and he held her close, not wanting her to see the tears that were welling up in his eyes. 

After a while he put his hand on Bulma's belly and told his little warrior daughter to slow down, that she didn't need to fight so hard to come out.

And when Bulma finally realized how upset her husband actually was, she embraced him and told him that it was okay and that she was okay too. She explained to him that she was a having what's called a precipitous delivery and that as long as little Bra was in the right position, everything would be just fine. She told him that his baby girl just couldn't wait any longer to finally met him and she reminded him of all those times when the baby would be restless inside of her and how she would instantly calm down at the touch of her father's hand.

"She already knows you Vegeta", Bulma said looking at her husband with great compassion. "She is clearly in love with you and has been for months. I think I hear the midwife, go let her in, okay?" 

After examining Bulma, the midwife reassured Vegeta that his wife and child were just fine and there was no need to worry, and she asked him if he still wanted to help in the delivery to which he replied a resounding yes.

Within 30 minutes time, and with one long and impassioned final push, a brand new blue haired little life made her entrance into the world. And the midwife handed the little girl to her father and he wrapped her in a soft cloth blanket and he gently washed her face and he carefully laid his new baby daughter on her tummy on Bulma's tummy and even though infants weren't supposed to be able to lift their heads; this little girl lifted hers and looked at him square in the eyes. And she began to cry and Bulma began to cry, and Vegeta, in spite of his efforts keep his emotions in check started to cry, and soon even the midwife began to cry because it was probably the most moving and loving thing she had ever seen.

"Take her, Vegeta, hold her for a while. The midwife needs to help me with some things". And so he picked his brand new little baby girl up and she stopped crying, but dad didn't. Vegeta was totally smitten. And as he looked over at Bulma, it became obvious to him that she was remembering that night 9 months ago when he had come to tell her goodbye.

__

"Thank you for coming back to us, Vegeta". Bulma said with tears streaming down her face. "I didn't know what I was going to do without you. Now come here and help me put our daughter to my breast and I fully expect you to hold us, just like you promised to do nine months ago. I want to look at the gift you've just given to me."

And with that, the midwife left and gave the new little family the time they needed to love each other and bond with each other. She didn't think she had ever seen a father who was already so totally wrapped around his child's finger.

She was sitting down in the living room when the two Trunks arrived back from a frantic trip to the quiet place. And she told them that their new little sister had just been too impatient to wait for them. They rushed upstairs and knocked on the bedroom door and entered to the sound of Vegeta's voice and they found Vegeta sitting in the rocking chair, holding both Bulma and the nursing baby. And he motioned for Chibi to come over too, because they had saved room for him and so Chibi flung himself up onto their laps and was mesmerized by the little blue haired girl. 

He gently touched her soft blue hair and smiled at her and his eyes got a little big when he saw what his mom was doing and Vegeta told his young son that his mom was simply doing what mom's did and was feeding the baby. And Vegeta looked over at the tall lavender haired man who was standing over across the room all by himself, looking very left out and forlorn, and Vegeta laughed and told him that while he simply didn't think there was any room left on the rocking chair that he was surely welcome to come over and be a part of them. And so the adult Trunks also flung himself over into their awaiting arms. His father simply looked at him and smiled.

With that, Vegeta's family was complete. And he hoped that Anuhea was watching from the other world viewing room, so that she could see that all the of the sacrifices that she had made in her young life for the sake of her child had not been in vain, that her legacy lived on in all of them.

And Vegeta noticed that a breeze was building up outside and he asked Trunks to go open the window and a wild and warm summer mountain breeze came rushing in.

"Wave to your gramma", Vegeta said as took Bra's little hand. And Vegeta found that he was truly happy now. He felt connected, no longer alone, no longer wounded, no longer angry, no longer 5 years old, no longer even aware of a time prior to his family. All of them combined had loved the pain right away. And now, he found that he had yet another person in his life who thought that he was number one. With that, he even chose to let go of the anger in his heart for Kakarotto. It belonged to another far away time. 

And when it was clear that little Bra was satisfied, Vegeta asked Bulma to hand the little girl to her new big brother. With that, Chibi's eyes once again got large, but he took his little sister and she snuggled into him and he was also smitten. Totally. And all he could do was stare at her and smile. 

And so the latest chapter in the lives of Vegeta and his family was now complete. Complete in numbers and complete in love. Complete in fullness. Complete.

Yet, unknown to all of them at the moment, a beautiful 17-year-old young woman was putting plans into place that might well leave the lavender haired adult son of Vegeta and Bulma completely heartbroken.

~~~

__

It might have appeared to go unnoticed,

But I've got it all here in my heart,

I want you to know the truth; of course I know it,

I would be nothing without you.

~~~

Did you ever know that you're my hero?

You're everything I wish I could be.

I could fly higher than an eagle

For you are the wind beneath my wings

~~~

Bulma, Chibi Trunks, Bra, and Trunks --- a family's heart song to their hero

__

Sources

Wind Beneath My Wings by Larry Henley and Jeff Silbar

Dragonballz by Akira Toriyama

The Shattering by LindaN

****

(To be continued)


	7. The Ways of a Warrior

Disclaimer: same as always.

Summary: This chapter explores Tien and Trunks relationship as a crisis threatens their future as a couple. 

Alerts: Yaoi

(Kleenex - not really, but is a serious chapter)

The Ways of A Warrior

__

Love is you  
You and me  
Love is knowing  
We can be

__

Love by John Lennon

Hannah was in a panic as she realized she only had one day left to bring her plan to seduce her father's lover to fruition and her father was starting to notice that she followed Trunks around like a lost little puppy dog. As she walked over to the window she saw the tall lavender haired man outside by himself over by the horses that belonged to her mom. Her father, who hated horses, boarded them for Launch because he claimed to care so much for her. And as Hannah watched Trunks, he seemed to have great affection for the gentle giants and suddenly, the plan Hannah had been waiting for presented itself to her.

She showered and scented her body with her perfumed oils and she dried her long blue hair into loose spirals and wild waves and when she dressed her self, she chose not to wear under garments and she chose her finest white silk blouse that barely hung in place on her shoulders, one wrong move and the blouse came tumbling down, exposing her breasts to the world. She also chose a flowery, feminine long silk skirt that brushed the floor when she walked and as she laced her boots, she chose a shawl to cover herself until she got outside of her father's view, and to top it all off, she wove several of the perfect lilies that her father had placed in her room for her, into her hair.

And she snuck outside the back way and made her way over to the stables. Upon finding Trunks already gone, she threw a blanket over the horse Trunks liked and she chose one for herself and also threw a blanket over it, and she bridled the horses and led them up to the front door of the house and tied them into place. And with that, she put on her very best animated face and went rushing into the house.

"Oh, father, I have the most wonderful idea. We've spent so little time together because of your deep love for Trunks, yet father, this is my last day here with you, and I long to spend some time with you. Please come horseback riding with me, I've got them tied up outside for us. Please father, you know how much I love you and you know how much I love those horses. Won't you do this for me? Please." 

And with that, Tien saw the tears beginning to well up his daughter's eyes and he was moved and he would do just about anything for her but touch those horses. He hated horses and he told her so. And she began to sob.

Tien walked over to her and embraced her and asked her if she would mind if he asked Trunks to take her horseback riding instead, because he seemed to like the beasts and when they returned, Tien promised to spend the rest of the day just with her. And she looked up at her father and began to blink her tears away.

"You would do that just for me? Father, words simply cannot describe the way I feel about you, and I appreciate your gesture more than you will ever know" And she smiled at him as he called Trunks.

"Asahi, I would like for you to accompany Hannah this morning. Go, have fun on those horses you have grown so fond of. Go have fun, Asahi".

"Tien, I think I would really rather have all of us go". And with that, Trunks looked deeply into his mate's eyes, and unknown to Tien, Trunks was trying to ask him to reconsider. Hannah had begun to act inappropriately toward him and he didn't know how to handle it, so he had chosen to remain silent about it because he didn't want to create problems, but from the bottom his heart he didn't want to go with her that morning. He suddenly feared the worst and felt sick deep down in the pit of his stomach. But he didn't want to refuse since he didn't have a good excuse. And so he tried to talk to Tien's heart with his heart, pleading with it.

"What do you say, Tien. Won't you come too", but Tenshinhan refused, laughing at Trunks' reluctance.

"So let me ask you Asahi, whose bite are most afraid of, the horses or my lovely daughter's? Stop being silly and just go."

And with that, Trunks walked past Hannah without looking at her and jumped up on the horse he liked and wasn't surprised in the least that it was there. As they rode off, Tien watched them and sadness gripped his heart. It had become obvious to him that something was going on between Trunks and Hannah and today, after seeing what he perceived to be Trunks guilty reaction, Tien was almost convinced. And so he determined to follow them because he had to know for sure. It was the only reason he insisted his mate go with her.

For a time, the two of them rode in silence until Hannah came up along side Trunks.

"Why don't you want me, Trunks? I'm beautiful and I love you. Trunks look at how beautiful I am". 

And with that, she let the shawl drop to her waist and the movement of the horse under her began to cause the loose white silk blouse to travel southward. Trunks looked over at her and asked her to please stop, that his body simply didn't respond to her gender and even if it were to, he loved her father too much to ever be unfaithful to him. Then he told her again that she was breaking his heart because he knew how much her father loved her. And he looked away from her because he didn't want her to see the tears that were beginning to well up his eyes as he thought about Tien and his reaction.

But Tien's reaction was not at all what Trunks would be expecting as he followed and watched his daughter's open display.

As they rode further on, they came across a clearing and Hannah, convinced that all Trunks needed was a little more persuasion, suddenly reached down and flung her blouse off entirely and she forced the horse into a gallop and Tien watched her as her long blue hair flew and her breasts bounced and her skirt flew up around her waist revealing her nakedness and he began to weep as he watched his mate watch her.

And when she came riding up along side him, she moved from her horse onto his, facing him and unknown to either Trunks or Tien, she spotted Tien watching her. With that, she wrapped her legs around Trunks waist and pretended to fall off of the horse and Trunks reached out to keep her from falling but to Tien, it looked liked a lover's embrace and he simply couldn't take any more and chose to go home. But what he didn't see was Trunks take to flight and hover above Hannah, telling her that he that he had had enough of being used that way, and he was finally going to tell Tien about her behavior.

And she laughed at him and wished him luck.

With that, the sick feeling in the pit of Trunks stomach continued to grow and when he walked in the house, he found Tien sitting silently in the kitchen. And Trunks couldn't contain his hurt and told Tien he needed to talk to him about Hannah and Tien told him not to bother, that he already knew and he told Trunks that he wanted him to leave now, and never come back.

A feeling of absolute panic rushed through Trunk's body.

"WHAT! What are you talking about? What did I do? I haven't even said anything yet, Tien."

"Don't bother, Trunks! You are nothing but a fucking whore. I can't stand the sight you. NOW GET OUT OF MY HOUSE AND DON'T COME BACK. You are not welcome here anymore". And with that, Tien turned his back to Trunks.

"Tien, don't do this, please. I haven't done anything, Tien please. I've loved you since I've been 16 years old. Why would I throw that away? I never touched her Tien, the thought of it made my skin crawl, and I didn't tell you about her advances because I didn't want you to be hurt by her behavior"

"Tien, please, just turn around and look at me". And Trunks walked over and put his hand gently on Tien's shoulder, who was also weeping quietly.

"WHAT PART OF THE GET THE FUCK OUT AREN'T YOU UNDERSTANDING, TRUNKS!

You've betrayed me, you've betrayed us, and you've broken my heart, now will you just go?"

Shaking and in shock, Trunks walked down to the bedroom he and Tien shared and saw that his clothes were already packed. And he could not believe the way things had turned out for Tenshinhan and himself as he looked around the bedroom. But he determined he wasn't going to beg or fall apart, instead, he would leave his home and the man he thought had loved him in a manner that would make his father proud. Trunks had the blood of a Saiyan Prince and warrior surging through his veins, and he planned to make say goodbye with pride and with dignity. And with that, he picked up his belongings and went to tell the man of his dreams goodbye.

And he saw Hannah standing there pretending to weep in her father's arms and he saw that she had purposely put her blouse on inside out, and it became clearer to him what had happened.

"You followed us today, didn't you Tien. You had such little trust in me that you felt it was important to do that. And now you think you know what happened and you are making the biggest mistake of your life. If you knew how deeply I love you, you could never do this to me."

"Hannah, I hate you! I grieve for your father when he finally realizes what you've done. And he will find out Hannah"

He resolve to leave with dignity weakened as he made he mistake of walking over to Hannah and with tears streaming down his face he played right into her hands. 

"Please Hannah, please tell him the truth". 

"Which time would you like me to truthfully tell him about, Trunks?" And she stared at him with a victorious smirk on her face.

"GET THE FUCK OUT! NOW!"

Heartbroken, Trunks walked out the door and didn't look back, and all he wanted to do was go see his father because Vegeta would know what to do, he always knew what to do. So he took to flight and went home. 

In the meantime, Hannah had begun to lord her victory over Tien and she was becoming arrogant and cruel with him as she lied to him, and invented stories about times Trunks had made love to her right under his nose. 

"I know you find this hard to believe, Father, but your lover prefers me. And the sounds of ecstasy he makes when he's with me far exceeds the sounds of the pleasure he's ever gotten from you".

"What did you say?" Tien asked her as his heart began to race.

"What? About what?"

"Tell me again about his sounds of pleasure when he's with you, Hannah. Tell me about that".

And so, she proceeded to describe in detail the pants and whimpers and mews and everything else associated with the act that she could remember from listening to her father and Trunks make love. She looked at her father and rejoiced when she saw tears building up in his eyes.

"Hannah, Trunks whispers his love to me quietly when he is with me. I am the noisy one, it was not Trunks you were hearing, it was I. And you are a liar, and you are cruel and sadistic. And let me tell you something about making love with Trunks, he has taken a shine to being seme, and to taking care of me, and imagine my surprise to find that I liked that. He is wild and passionate and playful and it feels as though his body was made just for me. He is mine, Hannah, and he is magnificent and he touches me every chance he gets. And he makes me whimper and cry out from the intensity of him, Hannah. I had finally found someone strong enough to allow me to discover that I enjoy being loved on every bit as much as I enjoy the other. Do you even know what I am talking about? Have you ever even bothered to learn who I am as a gay man? I highly doubt it. You appear to be too self absorbed to care about anyone other than yourself".

"Now I find that I have thrown him away with exceeding cruelty. Oh, Hannah, I have just thrown away the mate I waited for my whole life because I loved you so much that it never even occurred to me take you were capable of such cruelty". Hannah watched her father's tears fall, she enjoyed it. It was every bit as satisfying as she had imagined.

"Actually father, I know exactly what you're talking about and you're telling me now that you've even given up on being a man. You and your 'lifestyle' disgust me and I cannot stand the sight of you. I'm ashamed of you and I hate you for what you did to my mom. You used her and then you threw her away just like you did right now with the man you are supposed to love. And you're right, I did lie to you. Trunks didn't want me, he kept telling me that because he was gay, he couldn't respond to me but that's a lie because you are gay and you made love to my mom and produced me."

"Father, you threw this man away, and you should be ashamed of yourself. You act so high and mighty and above everyone else. Yet you judged him and condemned him to be guilty based on your own assumptions. If you had chosen to trust him, you never would have followed us and while you think I'm horrible, let me ask you, would your mate have followed you?

"For the last 10 days, I pushed Trunks to be with me. I touched him and made suggestions to him and he responded to none of them yet he loved you enough to protect you. And you claim to love him; you know less of love than I do. It was your choice that destroyed your relationship, not mine. And father, did you see the look in his eyes when he walked out of here? I don't think I've ever seen anyone look so wounded, have you? You did that to him. You disgust me, and after returning home tomorrow, I never wish to see you again.

And back at Capsule Corporation, another parent child conversation had ensued.

"Son, I am a warrior. I fight for what I want and I enjoy the challenge of it. So if it were me, I would fight for my mate until it became apparent that the battle was truly lost, and only then is it released and let it go of. 

"Trunks, you are soft hearted and gentle, and I'm not telling you this to hurt you, but I struggle to not see that as weakness in you. It is one thing to weep, we all do that, but you continue to run from confrontations, and then you run to me for help you with matters that you clearly know how to handle for yourself. Maintain your tenderness, son, but also begin to walk like the warrior you are. You are one of only a handful of survivors of powerful warrior race of people and I ask you now to start acting like it. Stop whimpering endlessly about your problems and face them head on for a change, stop living so totally by your feelings that you throw reason away and then become surprised your feelings get trampled. I can't help but feel that if had you chosen to tell Tien about his daughter's behavior the first time it happened, it would have been handled right then and there. How arrogant it was for you to take away Tien's choices and responsibilities in the matter. He not so weak that he could not have handled that." 

Vegeta looked at his son with great compassion in his heart, knowing it was time to push Trunks further along on his journey into manhood, and recognizing that it was not always an easy process for either child or parent.

"Trunks, you and Tien are the first openly gay couple that I have ever knowingly encountered and it just never occurred to me one male could claim another as a mate. Trunks, there is a scent that a female produces and when she chooses a Saiyan male for mate, and that scent mingles with the male's and becomes a permanent part of him. I can smell that on you. Tien has claimed you and you belong to him, and should another gay male come around you, they will be repulsed by you because of Tien's mark. It is obvious to me now that your relationship with Tien has taken a different turn what I had thought earlier and you are the dominant one in your relationship. Trunks, he has chosen you because on a deep genetic level within him, he recognized that you were the only one strong enough to fulfill his needs, just like your mom chose me, and ChiChi chose Kakarotto, and now Videl is choosing Gohan in the same manner. It has nothing to do with scent of sex. Come over here and stand beside me and close your eyes. Now tell me, whose presence do you perceive around me? 

And it took Trunks a few seconds to realize that he detected Bulma, in addition to Vegeta. Clearly, they both were there somehow. 

"Now go, son walk like the warrior you are, take back, by force if necessary that which has been stolen from you. And I want you to stop running to me with situations that you clearly know how to handle already. You are wise, you are strong, you are a Saiyan warrior and I challenge you to start acting like it, Trunks.

"Bye, dad. Thank you. I know exactly what I am going to," and so Trunks flew at breakneck speed to Tien's mountain home.

As the walked in the front door, he noticed Hannah sitting in the living and Tien was still sitting silently in the kitchen. Trunks smiled and approached him without saying a word and he reached down and hoisted his 6' 1", 187 pound mate up over his shoulder, smiling to himself as he silently thanked Tien for the idea, and Trunks walked into the living room with him that way and stood before Hannah while he spoke to her.

"Please excuse me Hannah while I take back possession of what is mine. I am going to make love to him now, Hannah. I plan to repair the damage that you have caused here today".

And he looked at her with his own satisfied smirk on his face and as he started down the hallway, he turned for a moment, looked Hannah right in the eyes and said, "So fuck you!" When he turned to walk back down the hallway to his bedroom, Tien was now the one with the silly little grin on his face as he waved a mock 'bye-bye' to his daughter.

And as Trunks opened the bedroom door, he became very aware of Tenshinhan's approval as the fullness of his mate's manliness pushed into his shoulder and Trunks began to laugh out loud. 

"Tien! You're huge", he said with eyes gleaming as he walked triumphantly over to the bed and laid his mate down.

"It now comes as a surprise you to that I am 6' 1" tall? Where have you been, Asahi?"

And as Trunks closed and locked the bedroom door, he laughed at Tien.

"You are such a dope Tien! Now stay put and behave yourself. This is going to take awhile".

And before long, wildly passionate sounds began to emanate from that bedroom, as the two mates loved the pain and heartbreak of the day away. And when their bodies were spent, Tien lies in Trunks arms and peacefully fell asleep.

The power of love moves in the lives of people in the most unexpected ways sometimes, but once invited, it remains. Likewise, being a true warrior is a matter of a heart undaunted, and Trunks Briefs discovered that not only was he a warrior, he was an honorable one with his own little family, consisting of one other person who depended on him and needed him. He had never had that before and he felt as he lie there holding Tien, that he too had become number one in the life of another. And he mattered and that he was not alone anymore. 

It was hard for him to believe that it was only just a few short weeks ago that he buried his mom and traveled back in time. He left that time and place a frightened and lonely little boy in a man's body. 

He came back to the present time searching for love and he found it in the most unexpected place, imagine his surprise when it found it was right there inside of him all along. And once tapped into, it became unstoppable. As he lay there with Tien, he began to cry softly as he realized how special he truly was, and reaching down, he pulled the blankets up over them and tucked the both of them in and fell asleep too, holding the man of his dreams in his arms as he determined to keep his mate safe and warm, always. 

****

Love

__

John Lennon 

Love is real, real is love  
Love is feeling, feeling love  
Love is wanting to be loved

Love is touch, touch is love  
Love is reaching, reaching love  
Love is asking to be loved

Love is you  
You and me  
Love is knowing  
We can be

Love is free, free is love  
Love is living, living love  
Love is needing to be loved 

Sources

Dragonballz by Akira Toriyama

The Shattering by LindaN

**__**

(to be continued)


End file.
